Sylvie Urbé was educated in Luxembourg and Germany. She then received a PhD in cell biology at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund/University College London. She has held Wellcome Career and Cancer Research UK Senior Fellowships at the University of Liverpool, where she is currently a professor in molecular cell physiology. Dr. Urbé has made contributions to the early characterization of Rab proteins (which help vesicles fuse with the correct target membrane), the mechanisms for receptor sorting in endosomes, the removal of damaged cell components by autophagy and to ubiquitin biology. Her current focus is on mitophagy, a pathway that eliminates damaged mitochondria, and the role that enzymes called deubiquitylases play in the process. In particular, she is exploring the development of the deubiquitylase USP30 as novel drug target for Parkinson’s disease; inhibition of this enzyme enhance mitophagy.